New Zealander of the Year

They don’t say how they have selected their list to choose from. Here they are:

Bronia Tindall & Fabrizio Clementi

They gave a homeless man a slice of their wedding cake.

Nathan Spitzer

“The builder, a contractor on farms in the Waikato, become the toast of Ngaruawahia when he jumped into the fast-moving Waikato River in November to rescue an 8-year-old girl who was near-hypothermic and clinging for her life to a pier.”

Lance O’Sullivan

“…admiration and respect for the Kaitaia GP was renewed when he stormed the stage at a local screening of an anti-vaccination documentary.

“Already, O’Sullivan’s impact on local public health has been immeasurable, including setting up a low-cost health clinic at Kaitaia Hospital and the MaiHealth programme, which offers a remote consultation to people without ready access to primary healthcare.

“He has also been instrumental in establishing programmes aimed at improving child health, including the Manawa Ora Korokoro Ora (Moko) foundation and the Kainga Ora (Well Home) initiative.”

He was named New Zealander of the Year in 2014.

Marnie Prickett

“Prickett, 33, a former staffer at Auckland Council programme Wai Care, and fellow advocates launched a charitable trust that became Choose Clean Water, which has proven a powerful and influential voice for our waterways.

“She and others travelled across the country, hearing from people who had watched their cherished rivers turn dry or green, before presenting a 10,000-strong petition to Parliament demanding tougher laws to make all waterways swimmable.”

Sarah Thomson

“…she decided to become the first person in our history to take the Government to the High Court — a bid that ultimately failed legally, yet succeeded in capturing the country’s attention.

“Among other points, Thomson alleged the Government had failed to review its climate targets, and that those New Zealand had pledged — slashing domestic greenhouse gas emissions by 11 per cent below 1990 levels and 30 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030 — were “unreasonable and irrational” against the seriousness of the issue.”

“In 2014, he received the NZ Gallantry Star for his efforts fighting in Afghanistan.

“While stories of his courage and selfless derring-do in fighting the Taliban — he was wounded in a five-hour shootout on June 29, 2011 after the Taliban stormed the InterContinental Hotel in Kabul — were shared, mum Leslie spoke about true heroes making a difference in people’s lives.”

Sarah Cato

“Detective Sarah Cato is battling incurable cancer — but that hasn’t stopped her battling major crimes. And it hasn’t stopped her raising money for other cancer sufferers.

“She was heavily involved in Operation Nepal — the brutal sexual assault and murder of 69-year-old Cunxiu Tian in her family home in Te Atatu in January last year.

“Cato is also instrumental in the ongoing investigation into the abduction and sexual
assault of an 11-year-old boy in Ranui.”

The people of Kaikoura and Waiau

“Many locals would say the last 12 months have been the toughest of their lives. And the only way they’ve got through it, is by standing together as a community. Looking after each other.”

They are all people who deserve some recognition, to varying degrees.

There’s another on the list who deserves a special mention.

Andrew Little

“On his first day as Minister of Justice Andrew Little said he would look again at the compensation given to Teina Pora for his wrongful conviction and 20 year imprisonment. Within a fortnight he had done just that and signed off on an inflation adjustment for Pora’s compensation — adding almost $1 million to bring it to a total of $3.5m.”

“Just three months earlier, Little had acted on another ‘right thing to do’ by stepping down as Labour leader. Little’s was not the easiest decision to make and may well have been made for him had he not handed over the job himself to Jacinda Ardern. But his decision, and endorsement of Ardern, made it a smooth handover — and gave Labour a chance at the election.”

I agree with the decision to properly compensate Teina Pora.But one act by a politician deserves a major award?

I agree that Little’s capitulation as Labour leader substantially changed the election campaign, but I’m not sure he deserves a lot of credit for that, some but not a lot. One could claim that Metiria Turei had more influence on the election campaign and outcome than anyone.

And the merits of the Government that Little’s stepping down helped enable are far from clear yet. As are his plans as a Minister.

I think it’s fair for Little to be considered as politician of the year, albeit with question marks over his standing compared to all other politicians – notably his successor, Jacinda Ardern.

But one politician as overall ‘people’s choice’? Seems an odd choice to be on the list.

Gezza

If either one also jumped in a fast flowing river to save an unrelated child I’d vote for them. Risking your life to save another, that’s special. That’s bravery. Not a lot of people do that sort of thing. But good point re outcomes criterion – so Lance.

PartisanZ

Lance has had his recognition, and deservedly so. He’s now approaching a situation where one might almost invert what Pete said about Andrew Little: “But one act by a politician deserves a major award?”

And I beg to differ. Numerous people risk their lives to save other people every single day in a myriad of ways …

Gezza

I’m stopping here. I could go on. I’m not going to write a list for you to pick apart one item at a time, its pointless.
Aw, no, sorry – no fear of that. I should’ve said. I let this whole thing go ages ago & moved on as it was getting a bit Blazerly.

Kitty Catkin

PartisanZ

PDB – You think challenging the government in our High Court for the very first time isn’t “something of note”? I’ll be watching for some issue you’d like someone to challenge the new government about in Court …

Well, to be precise I’d be watching if I could be bothered with you …

And you think seriously and extensively bringing NZ’s water pollution problem into focus is nothing of note? Oh yeah, Right, you don’t believe there is a problem? Well then, go to your local dairy-farmed waterway and drink a glass of water.

Most prolifers do nothing like that. One I know will take in babies-I never seem to see her without one in a pram. Not content with raising 10 of her own, she now fosters babies who might otherwise have been aborted. None of the prolifers I know commit violent acts.

PDB

Gezza

PDB

PDB

Andrew Little – for being a total failure at being opposition leader, slandering a businessman in public with no evidence of wrongdoing, and not knowing that a large-scale International intern scheme was being run out of his Auckland office.

PDB

Blazer

what a life changing moment for a homeless man….a piece of wedding cake.Hang on…’give a man a piece of wedding cake,and feed him for a day,teach a man how to make wedding cake….’.NZ’er of the year!!enough to make you..throw..up.

PDB

Gezza

If they took him along with them, that would REALLY be something!
Could take a camera crew. Be great reality tv stuff. Could make them a lot of $. Couldn’t be worse than the Osbornes & The Kardashians. But I digress, so I suggest nobody even bother reading this one.

Kitty Catkin

Who hasn’t done something like that ? I helped a disabled woman onto a bus while the driver sat there sneering, and someone else helped her into a seat…but neither of us has nominated the other for NZer of the year.

Kitty Catkin

If there was an opposite to NZer of the Year, I’d nominate the bus driver who sat there with a sneer on her face as the disabled woman tried to get on before the rest of us noticed and came to the rescue-I happened to be behind her in the queue, but anyone else would have helped had it been them. The heartless cow didn’t lower the bus or put the ramp down and when B——– was (I admit, stupidly) trying to get into one of the front seats with the help of another passenger, she abused her for holding the bus up and ordered her to use one of the other middle seats.

New Zealander of No Year ?

How about the toerag who stole an injured woman’s wallet when she was being tended to after a car crash ?

Kitty Catkin

There’s an organisation here that helps street people and down and outs. They urge people not to give money to beggars who claim to be homeless, as most of them are not but are druggies and the contribution just goes to feed their habit. The organisation asks that people give the money to organisations that work with these people instead-and who are doing something about the homeless.

Gezza

I’ll nominate Patrick Gower for that disgusting, disgraceful fake news item where he deliberately misrepresented that video footage to convey the false impression there were rescue workers up in the Pike River access tunnel with the robot.

phantom snowflake

PartisanZ

Yep, no big story in Sir Gallagher’s apology … “I fired my salvo of ignorance and racism … Let that sit for a while …. Oh … Its affecting my business! … Oh … So sorry if anyone was offended … but you know … We’re all sorts of philanthropic …”

Nice idea p_s … The PartisanZ award …..

….. I’ll have to have a good think about this …

Kitty Catkin

The annoying thing is that the Gs do go in for philanthropy, even if they do insist upon their name being on everything they support. I suspect that Lady G (oh, dew call meh Lady Judi (even though I am no more entitled to it than you are)’ likes being the proverbial big fish. They support Hospice in a big way, and their name is well displayed. I don’t know if this was a condition or not (coff, coff)

PartisanZ

Well Miss Kitty, private philanthropy, or what I call the Charitocracy [new word # 107] or Trustocracy, trying to take up the ever-lengthening slack left by successive governments’ infrastructure and welfare austerity in a kind of social popularity contest … that is a whole ‘nother story …

How do the mentally-ill with criminal records fare in this contest, do you think?

Because make no mistake, when I say “the slack” I mean whole people, families and in some cases communities falling into the void between deserving of ‘social investment’ and being a pretty, popular cause for charity …

Kitty Catkin

I haven’t seen the Gallagher name on anything like that, and I think that I would have-they have their name writ large on everything else that they support.

I hope that if I supported Hospice I would NOT want my name on it. My mother left a very large legacy to them-five figures-but there were no strings attached. I am sure that this was a fraction of the Gallagher donation, but it was a large amount of the estate. I didn’t grudge it then and don’t now-my husband died a few years later in a Hospice and the loving care was indescribable. But to have one’s name in big letters somehow detracts from the gesture.

PartisanZ

Here’s an example of how far the Charitocracy has gone in Aotearoa-NZ.

Just applying for charity, ie to do charity work! Or community work, arts and sport, has become ‘privatrusted’ [new word # 108] … ‘social enterprise’ user pays …

Like the poor beggar pays money to ask the rich benefactor to please donate …

The NGO given the monopoly to charge for ‘access to funding information’ by the government has the audacity to call itself *Generosity NZ* … where online search tools have become ‘products’ at the ‘GivSTORE’ … GivME ME ME …. and GivUS …

duperez

Has the Herald any more right now than in any of the previous 25 years to deign who the New Zealander of the year is? By dint of their reach the mythical title becomes accepted as if it were for real, genuine, true.

They repeatedly tell us of their very own Mike Hosking, “Mike’s insightfulness and knowledge makes him one of New Zealand’s most successful broadcasters.”

Well he is successful, he has his own name on bits and pieces of various facets of the media and he makes enough money to be termed one of New Zealand’s most successful broadcasters in that sense. Insightfulness and knowledge?

So he’s got it all. Why don’t they don’t just automatically knight him New Zealander of the year?

For anyone who suggests I’m in ‘tall poppy syndrome’ mode and it’s just a chance to be positive and recognise someone who makes a notable contribution, I call bullshit on the Herald. Does being a leading light in doing something positive somehow cancel out the destructive, negative, dumbed down, muck-raking world they spend so much more time in propagating?